Target’s “cheap chic” clothing and housewares are falling out of fashion with cost-conscious shoppers.

The Minneapolis-based discounter – which has long thrived on sales of low-priced apparel by Isaac Mizrahi and home furnishings by Michael Graves – said its quarterly profit tumbled 24 percent.

With this month’s sales slumping, the retailer said it plans to slash prices during the holidays, suspend a share-buyback program and rein in long-term store-building plans.

“We, like other retailers, are all struggling from the inability to motivate and inspire people to come into our stores,” CEO Gregg Steinhafel admitted on a conference call yesterday.

That’s in stark contrast to the past several years, during which shoppers from every tax bracket snapped up its trendy apparel and home-related goods, which account for about 40 percent of its business.

Weakening demand for such discretionary items pushed Target’s same-store sales – or sales at stores open at least a year – down 3.3 percent for the third quarter.

Reeling from the economic crisis, cash-strapped consumers have been turning increasingly to Wal-Mart, loading up on basics like paper towels, laundry detergent and canned soup.

Last week, Wal-Mart said its quarterly profit rose 10 percent on a 3 percent increase in same-store sales.

Target also is being haunted by growing delinquencies and write-offs in its credit-card business, where profits plunged 83 percent, partly because it sold half the portfolio to JPMorgan Chase earlier this year.

Activist shareholder Bill Ackman, who had pushed Target to sell the entire portfolio, suggested last month that Target spin off its real estate – a move Target said yesterday it is still reviewing.